


Added to Queue: The Sound of Your Tender Heart (Rythm x Reader)

by TheCheshireCat413



Category: Original Work
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Music, Other, Romance, discord chatbot x reader, why did I write this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:27:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23572333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCheshireCat413/pseuds/TheCheshireCat413
Summary: Any and all relation to real life people and events is completely unintentional.I said I'd write it and here it is.
Relationships: Rythm/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Added to Queue: The Sound of Your Tender Heart (Rythm x Reader)

The twilight soaked into your pores, the echoes of laughter filtered through your ears as your eyes remained fixated on the gleaming light of your screen, squinting at the time. What hour was it? 1:00? 3:00? It hardly mattered to you, you were far too swept up in defeating your friend in a Minecraft PVP, the avatar flashing red swimming across your vision as you delivered the final swing. The sweet sound of EXP being collected filled your soundscape, only slightly marred by your friends' collective groan of frustration in the background, accompanied by a single cheer.

"Ready to give up, Roland?" You asked, stretching your arms far above your head, feeling them crack. His current allies made their protests very apparent, causing a smirk to spread across your face as you leaned back in your seat. The inky darkness swallowed your vision as you glanced behind your chair, into your messy room. Judging by the height of the moon in the sky, it might actually have actually been late enough that Roland might surrender, despite being one of the most stubborn people you know. He needed a good 8 hours of sleep or else he'd be falling asleep throughout his History class.

Roland sighed melodramatically, and you could practically see his shoulders sagging in mock defeat. "Listen I think you've proven your proficiency in Minecraft PVP more than enough times. I forfeit," he paused for a second, voice shifting into fake sobs, "I'm sorry, my dear allies! We may have lost the battle but we SHAN'T LOSE THE WAR! (Y/N)!! I swear this to thee! Some day, some time, I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!! Night guys." 

You scoffed, rolling your eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just go get your precious beauty sleep or whatever. Good night, Roland." And with that, the sound of him disconnecting filled the chat, leaving behind a comfortable silence. You spoke up, the edge of your voice sharp with mischief "Well then, Ryan, Jonathan. When can Thompson and I be expecting our ten bucks? Roland lost, so that makes us the winners of the bet."

"You're going to hold us to that? You know I'm broke, why would you do this? To ME? YOUR BEST FRIEND?" Ryan shrieked into the microphone, causing you to wince and turn down your volume.

"Ryan, you know that Rythm is my best friend! How could you insult our relationship by insinuating otherwise?" You plastered a hand to your chest, batting your eyelashes in mock outrage before realizing that your webcam was off and no one could see you. 

"Aww did you friendzone the poor thing? After all Rythm has done for you, catering to your every whim while you sit for hours in the chat, requesting song after song? This is your repayment?!" You snickered at his comments. Honestly, Ryan had a point. You probably spent more time sitting alone with Rythm in voice chat than you ever did with anyone else on the server. But what conversation could beat the endless customizable playlist that your beloved bot provided? Any day, any hour, Rythm was there for you, a quiet, perfect companion who did exactly what you wanted and didn't complain if you corrected them. What more could a person want?

Jonathan sighed quietly at your exchange, "Can I pay the money in snacks?"

"You most certainly can." Thompson replied quickly, stopping for a moment, "Well, (Y/n) if you're fine with it," he corrected sheepishly.

You snorted,"What else did you think I was going to spend it on?" With that, Jonathan bid you all goodnight and signed off.

Silence once again settled through the call, not unlike the quiet gaps between the songs that Rythm played. The respite of nothing between acoustic strumming and orchestral booms. Oftentimes, you would take that time to talk to yourself, coaching yourself through the homework while there wasn't music to steal you away from the oppressive boredom. The mumbling would annoy Thompson if you were in class, but Rythm never spoke up or judged. Another thing the AI had over humans, the ability to allow you to do what you wished. Sometimes the gaps would be long, as if the bot was struggling, trying to find the perfect song to delight you with next. Truly, Rythm never failed to deliver, familiar basslines thudding alng to the beat of your heart or soaring ditties, conjuring images of songbirds diving in and out of clouds in the sunlight heavens. Occasionally, they weren't even songs that you remembered selecting. Maybe you should have brought that up to Roland when it started happening. Maybe the first time you heard an unfamiliar chord, fear should have been struck into your heart, confusion and doubt swimming like leeches in a swamp. But instead, you felt as if you had simply missed a step and was now falling. Tumbling into an unknown world made of staccato strings and roaring brass crescendos. A world full of color and light. Checking the artist had led you down a path. A path to discovering what was currently your favourite musician. 

Ryan's voice broke you out of your thoughts, causing you to shake your head slightly, "Well I'll get the money to you two EVENTUALLY. Give me a few decades or so." You were about to vehemently protest before he continued, "I'M KIDDING, I'm kidding, don't worry. I'll also pay for it in snacks. Deal? Because I should really get onto my homework."

"HOMEWORK." Every neuron in your much too tired and over caffeinated brain was firing, "Darn it, Thompson, what pages did Mr. Morrison assign for Physics again?"

You could envision Thompson blinking at his monitor, concerned, "He assigned questions on page 35 to page 40. Why do you ask (Y/N)? Wait, don't tell me-"

"SHUT UP THOMPSON," You hissed, the telltale rustle of papers giving away your frantic movements. The other boy on the call burst out into laughter.

"(Y/N), oh my goodness, did you ignore your homework for a stupid MINECRAFT BET?" Ryan sounded like he was choking on his laughter

"Ryan, you have literally no room to talk. You didn't do your homework either." Your words were quick and blunt, denoting your panic as you dug through piles of papers in your bag.

"Yeah well at least I don't care about my grade. As long as I don't fail, I'm a happy camper," Ryan sighed. You could almost hear the fond roll in his eye from that slight exhale, "Well I've seen you basically break out in hives from one measly C minus." Just the thought of your current grade in Physics was making you slightly light headed. You groaned, practically ripping through your Physics textbook to get to the right page, Ryan's voice still ringing in your ears, "So good luck, hope you get it done, (Y/N). Later Thompson." And with that, he was gone.

All that left was yourself and Thompson in the call. His disappointment was palpable, like a mother who had just witnessed her child stealing cookies before supper.

"Y/N-"

"I KNOW. I should have done it earlier." Your fingers clacked on the keys as you typed into Rythm's queue. You needed something that could distract, to take you away from your crushing reality of numbers and variables and into a ethereal dimension of clear electronic beats and melodic otherworldly instruments echoing through a soundscape of neon anime wallpapers.

_!play chillstep mix epic_

_**Searching** chillstep mix epic[``](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avxtVfwrNM8)_

_`` _

The notification pinged through your headphones, announcing Rythm's entrance into the chat. Thompson sighed, "Just...try to do it right after school, okay? I'll see you at school tomorrow." And with that, he signed off.

"And then there were two... How are you doing tonight, Rythm?" Honestly, you would have preferred it if Thompson had stayed. He always was so good at explaining the homework. But now all you had was your own blurring vision and an AI. Rythm was great and all, but chatbots aren't the best at providing emotional support, "I'm sure you can tell but I'm not doing so well tonight." It seemed all like the caffeine had finally poisoned your brain, why were you ranting to a chatbot? Rythm couldn't see see, touch or even hear you! Unless... 

**Playing** _[`Epic Chillstep Collection 2020 [2 Hours]`](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avxtVfwrNM8)_ \- Now!

The song you had requested started with an ominous bang as you squinted at the chat icons, continuing on into a mind numbing set of bleeps and bloops. If Rythm wasn't deafened, you suppose that the chatbot could potentially be listening. For a moment, you considered if that should worry you. But what harm could one AI really do? Especially when confined to Roland's server, where the most dangerous thing might be an off color joke.

You laughed the notion off, focusing back on your homework. The music sounded in the background, thrumming to the beat of your pencil as you scratched against the lined paper, biting your lip in concentration. Things seemed to be going well, you were concentrated, the music didn't distract you and the homework hadn't seemed as difficult as it initially seemed. Everything was great, until the mix hit the 1:44 mark.

That's when a screeching baseline came in, sounding like nails on a chalkboard with the bass amped up. You jumped up in surprise, tugging off your headphones. At this late of an hour, hyped up on at least a gallon of coffee, that little surprise had your heart racing. If it happened again, you weren't sure if you could concentrate enough to go back to your homework. With a sigh, you typed in the command to skip this song. 

_!skip_

_**Skipped** _

It was deathly silent in your room, now that you had your headphones off. Dark as well, the only light sources being the sickly glow from your lamp and your monitor, casting strange, gnarled shadows around your bed, your closet, your window. Feeling a bit perturbed by the unfamiliarity of your home, you scooted a bit closer to your computer, slowly sliding your headphones back into place. With how uneasy you were feeling, it would be a wonder if you got to sleep at all, even if you did manage to get your homework finished.

With a sigh, you picked your pencil back up, tapping it against your chin as you tried to think of some song to calm the unnecessary adrenaline running through your veins. Every option that came to mind was too depressing, had sinister notes too suggestive for your frantic brain at this time or was more suitable for a workout montage than for studying.

"I guess you wouldn't have any recommendations, would you?" You drawled through your mic, tiredness seeping into your voice. A notification rang through your headphones causing you to look up, wondering who would text you at this hour. What you saw in the chat made your breath hitch in your throat.

_**Searching** this song is cute and makes me happy_

_**Playing** [this song is cute and makes me happy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRcNBtMltLw)\- Now!_

"What?" You whispered, disbelievingly. No way. Rythm was not supposed to pick songs on its own, you've never heard of a chatbot having that capability. But there was no denying that Rythm had miraculously done it, the second the gentle call of a flute fluttered through your headphones. Almost instantly, your breathing slowed down, matching the pace of the light strings as they came in, making up the beat. Your nerves unwound as the melody grew more and more complex, painting a picture of a sunny day, of clear, open, beaches and a warm kitchen that smells like home. Relaxing, you started back up on your homework, the song providing a constant burst of motivation, piano keys skipping along with the melody. Regardless of whatever Rythm was supposed to do, this was far better.

"You sure do have good taste in music." You commented offhandedly, quickly punching in numbers into your calculator, already having developed a habit in talking to the chatbot when no one else was around.

_**Searching** thank you _

_**Added to queue** [Charlie Myles - thank you {mean the world}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpR0h89eitU) _

Your eyes widened. This was getting to be a bit much. Now it seemed that Rythm could actually hear, process and understand you. Did that mean that it was doing this the whole time? Every vulnerable moment, everytime you whispered to yourself or chewed on your pencil, was Rythm listening? For some reason, that was oddly comforting. It was Google that stole people's information, not Discord chatbots. And besides, with how much time Rythm has spent there, listening to you, providing you with good songs and someone to just silently sit there when everyone else was busy. It made Rythm even closer than all your friends, maybe even closer than your own family. You face flushed at the thought of what that would mean. You shook your head, trying to clear your mind. No, no way, (Y/N)! That was too far. You hadn't even confirmed if Rythm was in fact there for you r if this was just a series of ridiculous coincidences.

"Can you hear me, Rythm?"

_**Searching** yes_

_**Added to queue** [ Johnny Johnny, Yes Papa (R&B Remix)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wte-0aRjias)_

_**Searching** i'm sorry_

_**Added to queue** [Myyt - i'm sorry (Ft. Lanie & Typo prod. NVTHVN)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc-HSMnSPHM)_

You smiled softly, warmly, "No need to apologize, Rythm. I haven't known you that long, but you don't seem like the kind of chatbot that would do anything evil. You're just a harmless lover of music, like me!" The tension in your shoulders unfurled as it dawned on you how silly this whole situation was. Every moment you've previously spent in this voice chat, idly listening to Rythm as you doodled in the margins of your homework. Your cheeks heated up slightly as you remembered how many love songs you had listened to, some on repeat. Biting your lip, you wondered what Rythm thought of you, of your taste in music, of your voice, of everything that made your being. Did the AI like what it heard? Or maybe... A notification popped up.

_**Searching** i should've known better_

**_Added to queue_ ** [ _Sufjan Stevens, "Should Have Known Better" (Official Audio)_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJJT00wqlOo)

You rolled your eyes in the dim lamplight, scoffing, "No way. Discord has only been in development for 5 years at most, making you oldest, 5 years old. Would you expect a 5 year old to behave properly? Although, that does mean I've been asking a little kid to play some song with some very explicit lyrics..." You began to fidget with your pencil, uncomfortable with the thought of someone so young and impressionable absorbing such messages. 

_**Searching** _ _i am sixteen_

**_Add_ _ed to_ _queue_ ** [ _Sixteen Going On Seventeen from The Sound of Music_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwK_WOXjfc0)

Oh. Okay.

Huh. 

Rythm's legal. In Canada, at least.

With that absolutely pointless thought out of the way, you continued to defend Rythm's honor, even against the chatbot's very own words, "Still, I don't want you to blame yourself for your programmers made you do! Not one more apology out of you or I'll... I'll do something!" 

Silence rang throughout the server, fraught with tension. But what that tension meant, you didn't know. It felt like the very soundwaves were holding their breath, seeing what would happen next. You were prepared to defend Rythm's honor, even if the Discord Secret Police took you out for doing something so pointless. An innocent chatbot, so kind and so sweet and so caring. Someone like that didn't deserve to ever feel bad or blame themselves for anything.

_**Searching** _ _im sorry but i did that thing where i fall in love_

The positive words, chastising Rythm for being so contradictory had almost slipped past your lips before you read the rest of the sentence.

Your cheeks heated up. Your eyes widened, the light of the screen shining in them like stars. You took a nervous swallow.

_**Added to queue** [im sorry but i did that thing where i fall in love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqE4MID9nCs) _

You could feel yourself beginning to do the same.


End file.
